Students with Learning Difficulties and Foreign Language Acquisition
Learning a foreign language, such as English, can be demanding for everyone and especially for children. Learning a foreign language can provide access to different cultures, allow interaction with a wider range of people globally and foster children’s self-esteem. Children with learning difficulties face significant challenges in learning a foreign language. Despite the challenges they […]
Enhancing inclusive education through digital resources: First findings of the FOCUS Project
Our article on the EPALE platform. EPALE (Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe) is an online platform supported by the European Commission, designed to promote and enhance adult education across Europe. It serves as a collaborative space for educators, trainers, policy makers, and other adult learning professionals to exchange resources, share best practices, and […]
CREATING A DYSLEXIA FRIENDLY CLASSROOM
Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty that primarily affects reading, writing, and spelling abilities. It is estimated that between 5% to 10% of the population experiences some form of dyslexia, though this number may vary. In a classroom setting, students with dyslexia face unique challenges that can hinder their academic progress if not appropriately addressed. […]
Teaching Foreign Languages to Children with Specific Learning Disorders: Challenges and Effective Teaching Strategies
The teaching of foreign languages to children with Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) presents a series of peculiar challenges that require a targeted and innovative teaching approach. The recent focus group conducted by Omnis at the Lingua Più center as part of the Focus project, highlighted these difficulties and proposed effective strategies to overcome them, offering […]
Unlocking Potential: How Embracing Neurodiversity Empowers Learners
The human brain is as diverse as humanity itself. This core principle underlies the neurodiversity paradigm, a growing movement that challenges the mainstream views of neurological differences. Traditionally, conditions like autism, ADHD, and dyslexia have been seen only from a medical perspective, as disorders requiring intervention. The neurodiversity paradigm flips this script. It argues that […]
Highlights from the FOCUS Project Meeting in Vilnius
In late June 2024, the Erasmus+ FOCUS project team gathered in Vilnius for an important meeting aimed at advancing efforts in language education for children with learning difficulties. The project, which focuses on creating foreign language opportunities for children with unique skills, brought together partners from various countries, both in-person and virtually, to reflect on […]
Collaborative Learning and Digital Tools in Inclusive Education
There is a growing recognition of the importance of collaboration between different professionals in ensuring pupils’ success, particularly in the field of inclusive education. This collaboration is particularly relevant for children with special educational needs, who may require additional support in a broad range of areas. Working together, special education teachers, occupational therapists, speech and […]
Navigating the Challenges: Foreign Language Teachers, Children with Learning Difficulties, and the role of Digital-Based Learning Tools
Teaching a foreign language to children with learning difficulties presents formidable challenges, but the integration of digital-based learning tools offers a ray of hope in overcoming these obstacles. Foreign language educators are increasingly turning to technology to enhance their teaching methodologies and better support students with diverse learning needs. Our project, FOCUS, intents to utilize […]
FOCUS: Empowering Language Teachers for Inclusive Education
As we begin our journey towards our project’s set of goals, we are currently dedicated to introducing innovative methods, practices and tools in teaching foreign languages to children (6-12 years old) with learning difficulties to foreign language teachers, primary schools and foreign language educational organizations. This step will bring us closer to the completion of […]
Turning the FOCUS to inclusion
In December 2017, the EU adopted the European Pillar of Social Rights, a document highlighting the importance of social, educational and cultural dimensions of EU policies for building a common European future for a fair, inclusive and full of opportunities Europe. One of the central themes was the right to quality, inclusive education where everyone […]
